This section provides background information related to the present disclosure that is not necessarily prior art.
Medical devices, such as medical pumps, can be used to treat a variety of physiological, psychological, and emotional conditions. For some medical conditions, medical pumps can assist an individual in overcoming such conditions. For example, medical pumps may be used for chronic delivery of therapeutic agents, such as drugs. As one specific example, a medical pump may be used to deliver insulin to a diabetic patient. Other examples include delivery of pain relief medication, e.g., to the intrathecal or epidural space of a patient, to alleviate chronic pain.
Some medical pumps are wholly implantable. Implantable medical pumps may be implanted at a location in the body of a patient and deliver a fluid medication through a catheter to a selected delivery site within the body of the patient. Typically, the catheter connects to an outlet of the medical pump and delivers a therapeutic agent at a programmed infusion rate to a predetermined location to treat a medical condition. An implantable medical pump is implanted by a clinician into a patient at a location that interferes as little as practicable with patient activity. For example, implantable medical pumps are often implanted subcutaneously in the lower abdomen of a patient. Implantable medical pumps may include self-sealing fluid reservoirs accessible through ports to facilitate in-service refilling by percutaneous injection.